


The Chain

by MuseOfTheNight



Series: This Guilty Blood [3]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Flashbacks, Forgiveness?, Kree-Skrull War, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Past Relationship(s), Past Torture, Secrets, lots of guilt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-16 16:11:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18525022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuseOfTheNight/pseuds/MuseOfTheNight
Summary: Promises were dangerous things. Carol made several of them - to other people, to herself. But when it became clear she could not fulfil them all, how to choose which ones she should keep?





	1. The Things We Lost in the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone ^.^ Better late than never, right? I have every intention of having this finished before Endgame blows our minds next week, but I might need some cooperation from my academic life, which I don't always get, so lets take a collective deep breath and exercise our patience ;p Other tags and the number of chapters will be added later on, but I think this is going to be short - ten chapters, tops. If I don't finish before Endgame that might change, so let's wait and see how it turns out :) This time around, the titles will be borrowed from songs that somehow mirror the story, starting with Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", and Bastille's "The Things We Lost in the Fire". It's not quite a soundtrack - you don't exactly have to listen to them as you read - but I think they're great songs and the lyrics reflect the chapters. And to wrap this up so you can go to the story already: Specially to everyone who has been waiting for this sequel for weeks - thank you for the amazing support you guys gave me, I really hope you'll enjoy this story as much as the other ones ;*

“Now what?”

Carol considered Talos’ question for a moment.

She had helped the surviving Skrulls find a fairly safe place to settle - it was too much call this desolate planet a _home._ Whatever native population had existed in that planet was long gone, probably ran away to escape the biting cold and the barren soil. There were a few constructions, and Carol had helped the Skrulls to remove the heaters from Mar-Vell’s ship and turn them on again inside the provisory lodgings. The only plus side of settling in this planet was that they were so far away from any Kree outpost the likelihood of the Skrulls being spotted was minimal.

They had to destroy Mar-Vell’s ship after removing anything that was useful - and non-trackable - from it. Carol used her powers to do so and even with all the energy that she put into it, the whole process still took a long time to be finished. Pieces of metal and lose wires could still be seen amidst all the puddles of melted iron, reminding Carol of how hard the task she had ahead of her was.

“Now I go back to Hala” she said to Talos “I’ll put an end to this.”

“What about your friends?” he asked “Shouldn’t you go back to them?”

Carol stared into the horizon to avoid his gaze. The only sun that illuminated this planet was very distant, unlike the one that shone upon Earth.

Carol knew she should go back. She should let Maria and Monica know that she was safe, that the Skrulls were safe. If she returned, she could find Fury, help him defend Earth from the threats that existed throughout the galaxy. Returning to her home world would be of great help to all the people that lived there.

But if she did that, the Krees would go on with their war. With the killing, the pillaging and the ruining of lives…

“I can’t just turn my back and pretend nothing’s happening” she looked at the wreckage of the Imperial Cruiser, that once symbolized respect and devotion. Now the sight of it made her want to punch something “They need to be stopped.”

“Not that I doubt you, but do you really think you can overthrow the Krees all by yourself?”

Carol clenched her fists. The anger that coursed through her veins burned stronger, inciting the electric sensation of her powers coming to life, the guilty weighing on her shoulders, trying to force her down. She squared her shoulders, holding her spine straight and tilting her chin up.

“I’m the only one who can try” she said, pushing back a new surge of anger at the voice that whispered in her ear, uninvited but not unexpected: _Anger only serves the enemy_.

Carol gritted her teeth. Almost two years had passed since she last saw _him_ , the one whose name she would not say even in the privacy of her own mind, but he seemed to follow her everywhere - his voice was constantly whispering to her, the ghost sensation of his touch all over her body plagued her day and night, and whenever her heart beat faster, blood rushing through her veins, she was reminded that he would be forever inside of her. That her existence was so connected to his she could swear she could _feel_ him sometimes; as if some sort of magic had bounded them together, making her wonder whether she would feel if something terrible happened to him.

Even now, with anger and guilt and disgust pulsing through her, the thought of him in pain brought an intense wave of dread; anxiety almost overwhelming her, she felt the sudden urge of going after him, checking if he was alive and well…

With tremendous effort, she reigned the impulse. Carol had expected that the urge to go after him would lessen over time, but as the days became weeks it only got harder. It was like a magnet was constantly trying to draw her to him. She blamed it in her desire for answers - so many _whys_ that troubled her - and her wish to see him face justice for everything he had done to her.

“Perhaps you should recruit some allies to the cause” Talos suggested “I would volunteer if I wasn’t needed here. But there are others who would like to see this war over.”

Carol nodded absentmindedly. Xandar’s Nova Prime’s face popped into her head immediately, and Carol felt shame assault her; she _had_ been presented with the opportunity to speak up and ask for the end of the slaughter, but didn’t. She had, instead, brushed away the idea that peace was a goal to be achieved. How _stupid_ she had been then, worrying about making a fool of herself by dancing in public in that pompous dress, thinking only about being kissed and touched by the man that was always in her thoughts, whether she liked it or not.

Talos didn’t need to know about that. He also didn’t need to know that she had no intention of dragging any other soul into this mess. This was _her_ responsibility. She would deal with this alone.

“If you need me…” Carol started, but Talos interrupted her with a smile.

“I’ll call” he stretched out his hand and Carol shook it. It seemed almost unbelievable that, less than two years ago, Carol considered every Skrull her sworn enemy “Take care of yourself, Carol Danvers. And don’t” here she looked into his purple eyes “Let them get into your head again.”

Carol nodded. As she flied away, leaving the Skrulls behind, she contemplated Talos’ parting words. She knew he meant well, but his advice was unnecessary - she had no intention whatsoever of letting any Kree deceiving her ever again. She would keep her guard up at all times. Carol knew who she was and what she wanted, and she wouldn’t let them take that from her again.


	2. Last Hurrah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that, two chapters in less than a week :O Chapter title is from Bebe Rexha's song ;)

Walking around with a target on her back wasn’t helping Carol’s plan. And she  _ had  _ a plan - perhaps not a very solid one, considering all the holes in it, but Carol liked to improvise, and as long as she kept her goal in mind, she was sure she could figure something out.

The basic structure of her plan was: Go back to Hala unnoticed; disable as many ships and weapons as possible; destroy the Supreme Intelligence; find a decent person to rule the Krees and steer them into the right direction.

The first part was proving to be a little bit difficult because people kept recognizing her, probably because she glowed like a Christmas’ tree every time she flew in open space without a ship. Kree patrol ships appeared out of nowhere and tried to blow her to pieces so many times she finally decided to pursue a ship of her own if only to get closer to the Empire’s border planets.

At first, Carol had fully intended to buy a ship, but it turns out that spaceships were expensive, even if they were small, or old, or stolen. She couldn’t afford even the cheapest one because Starforce hadn’t exactly transferred her salary after she deserted. The idea of stealing wasn’t very appealing, at least until she heard of the Ravagers. She found them on Contraxia, a unsympathetic planet where they went to relax.

Carol watched from a safe distance as the Ravagers cleared out of the ships, heading towards the next city, and only approached the nearest craft when they were out of sight. It was an old model, probably extensively altered to fit the needs of a faction of thieves, but it would do to get her closer to Hala.

She was working on picking the lock to get the door open without breaking it to pieces when an arrogant voice spoke behind her.

“I’m disappointed. I’ve been told you could do better than this.”

Carol tensed up, turning her head to see who had managed to sneak up on her.

The woman that stood a two feet away was unusually tall, holding herself in a proud poise so stiff that one might have thought she was an android. But the intensity of her blue gaze was too strong to belong to a robot, and the bags under her eyes revealed a tiredness that no machine could feel.

“You shouldn’t believe in gossip” Carol advised, still examining the woman. She wore a tight black outfit that covered her entirely, except for her face. The bracelet in her left arm and the hair held up in a ponytail were of equal shades of gold. The skin was so pale it gave the impression it had never been under the sunlight.

Something about her bothered Carol. Not just the off-handed comment on Carol’s alleged fame, but the shape of her eyes, the way she tilted her chin up whilst keeping her face carefully expressionless. It reminded Carol of someone.

_ Keep your thoughts clear,  _ came the unwanted whisper.

Carol shook her head. She had to stop looking for  _ him  _ everywhere.

“I believe my source is quite reliable” the woman clasped her hands behind her back “He made you as you are now.”

Carol’s heart skipped a beat. Then it started beating faster against her ribcage, like a bird flapping its wings in a desperate attempt to escape. The familiar anger exploded inside her and she clenched her fists, holding her powers at bay.

Carol couldn’t deny the relief that coursed through her though, almost as strong as the anger. This time, she hadn’t imagined anything.

_ Anger only serves the enemy,  _ murmured the voice.

“Who are you?” Carol demanded, eyes glued at the woman, biting her own tongue to keep the other questions she wanted to make from slipping out:  _ How do you know him? How much has he told you about me? _

_ Do you know where he is? _

“I am Ayesha, High Priestess of the noble race of the Sovereign” the woman said, and Carol could easily picture her barking orders to a room full of people “And I am here to ask for your help.”

Ayesha said  _ help  _ like it was a curse, like she was furious at herself for even having to say it out loud.

“My help? To do what?” Carol frowned. Sovereign. She had heard about them. Didn’t they live in a conglomerate of planets all the way across the quadrant? 

“I heard that the Kree Starforce is being reorganized” Ayesha still sounded arrogant, but there was something beneath that, a quiet desperation that made Carol curious “Former Commander Yon-Rogg has been charged with the murder of three officers from Nova Corps. To avoid war, the Supreme Intelligence has offered him to the Nova” her mouth tightened into a very thin line “Or so the official story says.”

Carol wasn’t sure why so much disappointment filled her when Ayesha told her those news. The only thing she was sure was how strange it felt to hear  _ his  _ name coming out of Ayesha’s mouth.

“I don’t see…” Carol started, but Ayesha cut her off swiftly.

“You owe him.”

Carol glared daggers at her. The Priestess held her ground, blue eyes sparkling.

“He saved you” Ayesha said “Trained you. Taught you how to survive.”

“He  _ used  _ me” Carol pointed out. Carol had no idea why the hell  _ he  _ had told this political leader from some very distant planet details about her, but clearly he left out some bits of the story “He  _ kidnapped  _ me, wiped my memories, made me  _ kill _ innocent people…” Carol had to stop talking then. She could feel the electric energy building up, the hatred igniting her powers “He almost ruined my life for good. I owe him nothing.”

“But you do” Ayesha insisted “If he hadn’t saved you, you wouldn’t be alive to hate him now.”

Carol was overcome with the sudden desire to scream.  _ He  _ hadn’t done anything for her out of the kindness of his heart. He was shaping her to be a living weapon and he almost succeeded.  _ Almost  _ being the key word. She had found out his plan. She had escaped his hold. She was free now.

She did  _ not  _ owe him a goddamn thing. She didn’t have to rush to Xandar to go after him. Besides, Xandarians were pacifists, right?

“The Nova don’t kill prisoners” Carol told Ayesha.

“It’s not the Nova that worry me” Ayesha replied “It’s the Supreme Intelligence. Yon-Rogg might have fallen in disgrace, but he used to be a high-ranked officer. He knows way too much to be simply handed over to the Nova like a common criminal.”

“You think the Intelligence is bluffing? Lying?” Carol frowned. She had a sneaky suspicion she would not like where this conversation was going “Why?”

“To lure the Nova into a trap” Ayesha said grimly “So they can get rid of Yon-Rogg and start the war against the Nova they’ve wanted for so long.”

Carol repressed a groan. If what Ayesha was saying was true, putting down the Kree was going to be a lot harder. Taking on them when they were chasing after her and the Skrulls was one thing. Get a hold of them while they were in the middle of an all out war with the only civilization that had a military power equal to their own, however…

_ Stopping these deaths would ruin the Intelligence’s plan. It would end the war before it even begun. _

“How do you know all of that?” Carol asked, summoning every bit of suspicion she still had. It was harder than she expected, because a stubborn anxiety kept creeping back. She kept trying to chase away the image of  _ him  _ lying broken, golden eyes open but to never see again. 

The product of her own imagination was enough to give Carol chills. She had no idea of what she would do if she actually saw  _ him  _ dead. Would she feel relief? Sadness? 

Despite the turmoil that was going on inside Carol’s mind, she didn’t entirely miss Ayesha’s hesitation to reply.

“I have a reliable source” Ayesha said carefully “I believe what they are saying about the current state of things.”

Carol mulled that answer over, but there wasn’t much to think about it - Ayesha’s source, whoever it was, was likely in Hala, probably a Kree that would rather not disclose their involvement with a Sovereign. Carol couldn’t verify the quality of said information without talking to them personally.

So she would have to meet them. And if the information was correct, then she could work on preventing more conflict.  _ That’s all that matters. Saving innocent lives. Not the lives of lying murderers. _

“I want to meet with your source” Carol said and Ayesha breathed out angrily “I need to check for myself if their intel is any good.”

“We don’t have  _ time  _ for this!” Ayesha protested with vehemence “Yon-Rogg is being transferred in three hours. We must leave now, otherwise we’ll never arrive in time to save him!”

_ Emotion is the most dangerous thing to a warrior. _

This time, Carol actually welcomed the whispered advice. She need to keep her head clear, to think about this rationally. She had to ignore the impulse to agree with Ayesha, to follow her without a second thought and go to  _ him _ .

“Why is this so important to you?” Carol asked “You have to at least tell me that.”

Ayesha hesitated.

“My reasons are of no importance.”

“Your reasons might just be the only thing you can use to convince me to go with you” Carol replied, exasperated “You came to me for help and didn’t show me any evidence…”

“Yon-Rogg is the first of my progeny” Ayesha said quickly “I’ve always been quite… attached to him.”

_ What? _

“You… you’re saying that you’re his… his  _ mother _ ? That he’s your… firstborn?” Carol eyed Ayesha up and down. That explained the resemblance, yes, but it didn’t answer any of Carol’s other questions.

It was a perverse irony to learn more about his family when all she wanted was to forget everything about him. She could almost hear the Universe laughing at her.

“I suppose that’s how you would say it” to Carol, it sounded like a strange concession to make, but she had no time to process it as Ayesha proceeded, her voice getting more bitter “I’ve given the Kree the best warrior they could have wanted, and this is what they do to him.”

Carol took a deep breath. The decision was surprisingly easy to make - so easy, in fact, that it unsettled her.  _ It’s not because of him,  _ Carol told herself,  _ it’s to stop the war. To save lives. To keep mayhem from happening. _

“You think this ship can get us there?” Carol knocked lightly on the hull of the ship she had been trying to steal. 

“I have a better option” Ayesha turned around and started to walk without bothering to look back. Carol sighed before following her.

  
  


Nine jump points later, they arrived at the Kyln, the facility where the Nova kept those considered criminals by the Nova Empire. The prison was a bizarre thing, a stone construction floating in the middle of space, surrounded by rocks as big as star ships. Carol had never seen such thing - a building that existed without a planet to be grounded on.

“We have half an hour” Ayesha rose from her chair at the piloting console. The ship they were in was entirely black, ideal for sneaking around in space without being noticed. It certainly would help their plan, but Carol couldn’t help but imagine what the Sovereigns were up to if they had ships like these.

“What’s the plan?” Carol jumped to her feet. She couldn’t remember being this tense,  _ ever.  _ Her senses felt sharper, every movement and every sound unsettling her. Electricity coursed through her, under her skin, signalizing that her powers were ready to be used.

“First, we must blend in” Ayesha lifted her left arm and touched the golden bracelet.

Carol watched, shocked, as Ayesha’s image flickered before her; in a moment she was the pale woman with the black outfit she met and the next her skin and eyes were as golden as the bracelet. She seemed to flicker again, and now the pale skin returned, a Nova Corps blue uniform replacing her black clothes.

“Cloaking device” Ayesha explained absentmindedly. She pressed a few buttons and Carol saw the whole ship flicker “And now we’re in a ship from the Nova Fleet.”

“If the Sovereign are so advanced” Carol said as she altered the appearance of her own uniform until it matched Ayesha’s “Why are you here alone? Don’t you have any friends that could have helped you out?”

“Every Sovereign citizen is made to be perfect both physically and mentally. Their lives are too precious to be risked” Ayesha said with poorly-disguised bitterness.

“But he is one of you” Carol contested.

“He’s half Kree” Ayesha looked slightly displeased by that “In the eyes of my fellow citizens that makes him even less worth saving.”

_But not in yours._ Carol didn’t dare to say it out loud, but the thought wouldn’t go away. She had never imagined meeting _his_ mother would be like this; that she would be the leader of a closed off civilization, and that Carol would have to help her save his life. Carol was still unsure if this was the right thing to be done, but she was also weirdly satisfied to know that his mother cared about him. It was actually a bit reassuring to know that not all of the Universe was based on power-lust and revenge.

Their cloaking was enough to get them inside the Kyln, where the guards easily believed they were sent by Nova Prime to interrogate the new prisoner, who was yet to arrive. 

Carol watched the minutes tick by in an ancient clock that looked very out of place in the cargo bay in which she was waiting for the Krees in the company of Ayesha and three guards. Carol was doing her best to act cool and not draw too much attention, but she needn’t have to worry - the guards looked utterly bored, talking to each other about some sort of game. Ayesha kept her eyes glued to the dock the Kree ship was supposed to land in. 

After what felt like a small eternity the black and green ship entered the bay. Carol clenched her fists tightly. She repassed the plan: Ayesha would grab  _ him  _ from the Nova after the Kree had removed the shackles. Carol would knock the Krees and the Nova down, and keep watch as they ran like hell to Ayesha’s ship.

Simple. Easy to do. Three Nova guards. Around the same number of Krees. Easy peasy. Ayesha would take  _ him  _ to Sovereign - where she promised they would stay for the rest of their lives - and Carol would use the Kree ship to go Hala and proceed with her original plan to destroy the Supreme Intelligence.

She just had to put down some guards. She just had to look at  _ him  _ for a couple seconds, a minute, tops, while the shackles were removed.

A minute. A minute and she would be free of  _ him _ .

She did her best to ignore the skeptical chuckle her own mind conjured at the thought of ever being completely rid of  _ him. _

The Kree ship landed and a door slid open. Three guards surrounded the prisoner. 

Carol held her breath, body stiffening, tense like a piano string, ready to react to the slightest bit of pressure.

Her first thought upon seeing _him_ in the flesh wasn’t coherent; only two words came to her mind, _you’re here,_ followed by the conflicting feelings of yearning and disgust, both so strong she almost forgot where she was and who were the other people around them.

Carol’s second thought was only slightly more coordinated. When she first laid eyes on  _ him _ , for a moment -  _ well,  _ whispered a voice in her mind, not  _ his  _ voice, but her own, one that seemed to represent her good senses every now and then,  _ there’s no point in trying to forget about him when he is only five feet away, is there? -  _ and for a moment only, she saw the Yon-Rogg she remembered. A proud looking man, handsome and strong, always calm although sharp, ready to face anything that the Universe threw at him.

Then whatever illusion was that slipped and Carol realized that these last two years had taken a toll on him: His skin was of a sickly grayish color, there were bags that looked like bruises under his tired golden eyes, his hair had grown longer than Carol had ever seen and it looked dirty and wild. The standard green uniform he wore looked very loose on his body, and combined with the way his cheekbones looked ready to cut through the skin of his face made Carol realize he had lost a lot of weight.

Carol clenched her jaw, trying to ignore the reflexive way her throat tightened upon seeing him like that. He looked like he had been through hell in their time apart. She clenched her fists so tight her short nails broke through the skin of her palms. The urge to run to him took form in a physical ache, a stabbing feeling to her heart.

_ Don’t let them get into your head again. _

Talos’ advice popped into her mind suddenly, but instead of sobering her up, it only made the ache in her chest worse.  _ How am I supposed to stop him from getting into my head again when he never truly left? _

“You!”

The unexpected shout made everyone look to the Kree guard to Yon-Rogg’s left. 

Carol’s mind started to race as fast as her heart. Korath. The Kree soldier  _ recognized  _ her - of course he did, they had gone to many missions together on board of the Helion, under Yon-Rogg’s command. Carol couldn’t believe she hadn’t recognized him before.

Korath raised his gun and aimed at her. Before she could do anything - push him away with a photon blast, ask him to stop - Yon-Rogg moved. Slower than he would have two years ago, but still fast enough to shove his elbow on Korath’s face.

“Get down!” Carol yelled, finally releasing her powers. Thankfully, Yon-Rogg and Ayesha both dived to the ground and avoided being hit. Unfortunately, so did Korath. 

As soon as the blasting stopped, Ayesha got up and ran towards Yon-Rogg. Carol followed her, taking a moment to be surprised at how fast the Sovereign moved, and then focusing her attention on Korath, who punched Yon-Rogg’s side, right below his ribcage, making his skin go from gray to white. Yon-Rogg’s knees buckled and Carol saw red at that, her next blast hitting Korath square in the face. He flew away, a loud cracking sound following the hit of his head on the hull of the Kree ship.

“Yon-Rogg!” Ayesha reached him before Carol did, wrapping her arms around his waist; it wasn’t as much a hug as an attempt to keep him upright. It made Carol pause anyway.

Carol stopped a feet away from them. Her skin was prickling and it had nothing to do with her powers this time; it was the sheer closeness to Yon-Rogg that made all her hairs stand up, a sense of yearning coming from deep inside her.

She wanted to push Ayesha away and hold him. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, to see only her reflex on his eyes. She wanted to hear his voice as he whispered in her ear, to feel his warm breath on her skin, giving her tickles.

But she  _ shouldn’t  _ want those things. He was a monster, she reminded herself; he had ruined her life, lied to her, made her a monster as well…

And he was with his mother now. She didn’t have to worry about him any longer.

“You two need to get going” Carol said in her best imitation of a normal voice “I’ll wait until you’re safely outside and then I’ll take this ship” Carol tilted her head towards the Kree ship.

“There’s a nondescript ship outside” Yon-Rogg said. He kept his eyes on Ayesha, ignoring Carol purposefully. She felt a sting at the sound of his voice, hoarse and tired, but pushed it aside “They’re waiting to destroy this prison.”

“We know, my darling” Ayesha maneuvered him until his arm was slung across her shoulders whilst she held him tightly by the waist - too tight, judging by the way he shuddered slightly “We’ll be gone before they can hurt us.”

“They’re waiting for the ship to leave” Yon-Rogg continued “They’re not here to spill Kree blood.”

When Carol realized that it meant she couldn’t just take the Kree ship, she was less than pleased. Ayesha turned her head to look at her.

“Come with us” Ayesha urged “I owe you a favor. I’ll give you my ship. We just have to make it back to Sovereign first.”

Feeling more frustrated by the second, Carol followed them back to Ayesha’s ship, where the Priestess buckled Yon-Rogg up like a small child in a car seat before altering the appearance of the ship with the cloaking device.

Suddenly, the ship became entirely golden, as did Ayesha once she removed the bracelet from her arm. The ship took off before long.

“So, now it’s a straight line to Sovereign?” Carol asked.

“Believe me, it’s not going to be a straight li...” Ayesha’s dry comment was interrupted by the sudden tilt to the side the ship suffered.

Carol, who had been standing behind Ayesha’s chair, fell face-down on the floor. She groaned as she pulled herself up, spitting out her own hair.

“What was that?!” she screamed to Ayesha as the ship continued to fly leaning heavily to the left side. 

“I don’t…” Ayesha flipped through the cameras and hissed “The Kree guard!”

Carol took a look and sure enough there was Korath, a huge gash in his bald head leaking blood, but his hands were steady as he shot Ayesha’s ship from at least a mile away of distance.

“You two go, I’ll take care of him” Carol was already turning when Ayesha grabbed her wrist.

“No! You stay here and pilot the ship” the Priestess opened a compartment in the console and pulled a gun and metal device from there “He damaged the ship. I must go fix it.”

“What? You can’t go outside to fix the ship!” Carol protested. 

“I must, or we’ll never leave” Ayesha hurried to climb a small set of stairs and open a hatch in the ceiling. When she disappeared, Carol sputtered a couple curses and dropped herself in the pilot chair.

Carol did her best to keep the ship flying whilst Ayesha fixed the damage. She kept shifting her attention between the camera that showed Ayesha recklessly attempting to close the hole in the ship’s hull and the one that showed Korath racing after them. The cargo bay of the Kyln was huge - miles and miles of extension, enough to fit dozens of ships - but the gate that led outside was getting closer. Ayesha had to come back inside or she would die the moment they went into open space.

“Ayesha! The gate!” Carol screamed into the comm device at the console. Carol looked at the cameras again. More Nova guards had arrived at the bay, undoubtedly summoned to deal with the mess. 

“Speed up! Now!” Ayesha had gotten back inside, and Carol was finally able to level the ship. Carol pushed the ship to go faster, eyes on the huge red gate ahead.

The gate opened to let them through, revealing the lights of distant suns, the sea of rocks that surrounded the Kyln, and a strange oval shape that didn’t belong to the scenario.

The ship had just reached the gate when two red lights glowered, coming from the distant dark shape. In the next second, the Kyln was going up in flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewatched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and Vol 2 a couple weeks ago and I was like "wow, I totally forgot about this and that". Looking back there's a lot of connections in those movies, I recommend you to watch them again, if only to pass time and increase your expectations for Endgame ;)


	3. You Give Love a Bad Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I would like to thank everyone who has left kudos and/or commented ♥ Your guys are awesome! :D My week has been a mess so I didn't have enough time to answer comments but I've read them all and they're lovely, sorry that I didn't get to reply your guys this time :/ Now, this chapter might contain some grammar errors because I had to run to finish it, so if you spot something leave a comment and I'll fix it ;) Chapter title is a song by Bon Jovi :)

People stared at her as she ran down the three blocks that separated the Central Hospital of Hala from the Starforce Headquarters. Distantly, she acknowledged that it must be unusual for cadets to dash through the streets in training uniforms with such desperation. Hala was a safe place, after all. Its habitants weren’t familiar with the idea of something terrible happening _in_ their planet.

As she burst through the doors of the hospital, several heads turned to see her make a straight line to the reception table. The skinny man behind the table offered her a smile.

“Good morning, miss. What can I…”

“Commander Yon-Rogg from Starforce” she demanded at once, interrupting the receptionist “Where’s he?”

“I’m afraid I can’t give you this information” the receptionist’s smile was apologetic. He glanced at her uniform “Perhaps you should go back to the Headquarters. I’m sure you’ll be updated there.”

“Not soon enough” she gripped the edge of the reception table, knuckles turning white “I need to see him. _Now.”_

“Miss…”

“Vers!”

Vers turned her head and, to her relief, there was Att-Lass. She ran to him, a cold feeling spreading through her veins even though her heart was racing.

“Tell me” she said, clenching her fists. She felt like there wasn’t enough air in her lungs, like she was racing against the clock to get more than she could get.

“He got hurt pretty bad, but the doctors fixed him” Att-Lass said with a reassuring smile, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. Vers was finally able to suck in a stabilizing breath, her nerves calming a bit. She closed her eyes for a second, pulling herself back together.

“I need to see him” she said and Att-Lass guided her through to the hospital until they arrived at a hallway were Minn-Erva and Korath stood like guards outside one of the doors. They nodded to her as she moved past them, sighing in relief as she finally peeked inside the room.

Yon-Rogg was stretched across the hospital bed, one doctor adjusting the IV drip and another one writing on a clipboard. He looked pale and tired, but otherwise well. Vers rushed to his side, ignoring the other people in the room completely in favor of staring into his glorious golden eyes.

“I sure hope you didn’t knock anyone down in your way here” Yon-Rogg said. He sounded distracted, but perhaps it was the effect of the drugs.

“ ‘Course not” she said with a tight smile.

“Are you his superior?” asked the doctor with the clipboard.

Vers looked up.

“No.”

“Vers will be overseeing his recovery, though” Att-Lass intervened, and Vers made a mental note to thank him later. She and Yon-Rogg hadn’t exactly assumed their relationship publicly, but those closer to them have long since noticed that something was going on.

“As I was saying to our very stubborn friend” the doctor with the clipboard glared at Yon-Rogg for emphasis “Injuries to the spinal cord aren’t jokes. We reconnected everything, but he must rest and give his body time to heal nonetheless.”

“Of course” Vers nodded “I’ll make sure he takes it easy.”

“Good” the doctor said “A troublemaker, this one. Someone ought to keep an eye on him.”

Carol jerked awake.

The images that assaulted her mind the moment she became conscious - the raging inferno that swallowed the Kyln - almost made her wish she could sink back into her dreams.

Almost. Because even when she was asleep he wouldn’t leave her alone, constantly reminding her of the connection between them, the one that made her tense and anxious whenever it was strained too hard.

Carol rubbed her temples, trying to lessen the killing headache that made her head pound, even though she had just woken up from what felt like a day of sleep. The pressure of her fingers against her chilly skin didn’t help, neither did the way Yon-Rogg was staring at her through his eyelashes, his gaze so intense it provoked a physical sensation, like he was actually touching her.

“Bad dreams?” he asked.

Carol looked at him She was torn between wanting to ignore him and craving to hold him in her arms. It was frustrating, infuriating and only made her headache worse.

She straightened her spine, trying to mimic his trademark blank expression, but knowing that she was failing. She had never been good at hiding her emotions and the turmoil inside her was just too strong to contain.

“Just another addition to my collection” she said dryly “The top three of the list are: You, pushing me off your shuttle and leaving me to fall to my death, Ronan dropping that warhead in my homeworld and you, again, this time killing Lawson.”

He closed his eyes, tilting his head back into the headrest of the chair Ayesha had strapped him to. The long column of his throat was completely exposed, and Carol’s mind conjured up more images - she could see herself advancing towards him, sitting on his lap, leaning down to kiss her way up his neck like she had done hundreds of times before, sliding her hands down his hair, thumbs brushing the skin above his Adam’s apple as her fingers tightened around his throat.

Carol pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, hard. She just had to keep it together for a few more hours, then they would part ways and she wouldn’t have to see him again. She just had to keep herself in check for a while longer, control her impulses so she wouldn’t end up kissing him or killing him.

“Must that woman’s corpse follow us everywhere?” Yon-Rogg said, and Carol lowered her hands to glare at him. He still had his eyes closed, his long lashes casting shadows on the top of his too sharp cheekbones. With only two feet or so separating them, Carol could clearly see the sickly parlor of his skin, the cracked skin of his dry lips, the way his hair curled at the tips. He should have disgusted her - he had single-handedly ruined her life - but instead of feeling repelled she just wanted to reach out and touch him.

“Did you ever regret killing her?” Carol asked before she could stop herself. She just _had_ to know. If she was being honest with herself, an embarrassingly big part of her wanted him to say yes.

“I did what I had to do” he whispered.

The black rage that filled her then was sudden and unbidden. Carol stood up, knowing full well she was sparkling and that her powers were just a second away from blowing the ship up.

“Is that it?” Carol couldn’t keep her voice from trembling then “That’s all you’re going to say?”

“What do you want me to say?” he opened his eyes a fraction. Only a slither of gold could be seen between his eyelids, dull and uninterested.

“An apology would be appreciated” Carol growled.

Carol thought she knew how this would turn up; she would get worked up and he would keep calm, holding his ground whilst he tried to convince her that his point of view was the right one. They had done this before and she had no reason to believe that this time was going to be any different.

So it came as a complete surprise when he unbuckled himself and stood up. The impressive musculature that made up for his physical superiority had been severely reduced, but he was still taller than her. She tilted her chin up to keep glaring at him, despite her initial shock.

“Apologize? For killing a traitor?” he actually snickered, his nostrils flaring and lips tightening in the most intense display of anger she had ever seen coming from him “I most certainly _won’t_! Those filthy green bastards are the enemy, Vers, something you seem to have forgotten!”

“My name is Carol” she said angrily “How can you say the Skrulls are the enemy?! They are being hunted down and slaughtered! They are barely surviving, how can you still think they have the power to cause any kind of damage to the Kree Empire?!”

“Clearly they have brainwashed you” Yon-Rogg said with a strange smirk.

“Just like you did when you kidnapped me? When you took me away from my home, my friends…!” Carol exploded, just barely containing the energy pulsing through her.

“Vers, if I had the power to mess with your mind, we wouldn’t be here right now” Yon-Rogg pointed his finger at her face, apparently unbothered by the fact that Carol was glowing more and more as her powers surfaced in response to her anger.

“ _My name is Carol”_ she repeated, clinging to her anger for dear life. She didn’t want to let confusion sweep her off her feet. She didn’t want to let him mislead her again.

_He’s a liar,_ she told herself fiercely. _Don’t let him get into your head again._

“ _Carol_ ” Yon-Rogg said with a sneer “Whatever gave you powers erased the memories from your mind. Be sure that if I had the power to meddle with your memories, I wouldn’t have done such a sloppy work. If I could get into your head” he took another step forward, until his chest was almost touching Carol’s “I would’ve reached there and snuffed out that ridiculous spark of rebellion. We would both be home now.”

“Home?” Carol said, now looking for a way out of this conversation without running away like a scared child “Hala? The same planet where you were rotting just a couple hours ago?”

It seemed like Carol finally had found the right button to push. Yon-Rogg’s eyes became once again dull and distant, the anger draining from him incredibly quick.

“If you hate me so much then avenge your fallen friend. Avenge yourself” Yon-Rogg said “Kill me.”

Carol had to actually take a step back at _that._ She blinked, looking him up and down.

“What?” her voice was barely a whisper because this was so _wrong;_ the Yon-Rogg she knew wouldn’t say something like that. Come to think of it, he wouldn’t say any of the things she just heard coming out of his mouth. He wouldn’t let his anger show. He wouldn’t let _anything_ show.

Carol realized that she wasn’t the only one that changed in those two years apart. While she became stronger, he had been broken.

“Kill me” he repeated, his eyes narrowing “Unless you can't. Unless you think yourself  superior to the likes of me.”

_Not entirely broken,_ the thought crossed Carol’s mind, evoking equal parts of anger and chagrin, _not if he’s still playing games._

“If you didn’t learn by now you never will” she said, disappointment filling her “You’ll never change.”

“Is that what you want?” he invaded her personal space again “For me to change? You want me to kneel and beg for your forgiveness?”

_Yes,_ was the first thing she thought. It came as easy as breathing. Something inside her itched to see him showing regret, showing that he _cared,_ that he wasn’t a cold-hearted monster…

“I want you to be the man I used to know” Carol wished she wasn’t so _stupid_ and _weak._ She had failed in keep her guard up. She had let him get under her skin again.

She hated both of them for that.

“What if I tell you there’s no way to have him back?” Yon-Rogg’s eyes were solely focused on her again. The way he watched her, like she was the only thing that mattered - it felt familiar and stirred a sense of longing inside Carol, one that she didn’t want to feel “What if I tell you he wasn’t real?”

“I refuse to believe that” Carol swallowed down hard “You know me as well as I know myself. The inverse is also true.”

“Not anymore” he said tersely.

“Why, because you spent two years locked up?”

He closed his eyes, breathing down deeply.

“You have no idea what I had to go through while you were out gallivanting.”

“Gallivanting?!” just when she thought he couldn’t say anything more outrageous “I was righting my wrongs! _Our_ wrongs!”

“You betrayed me!” he yelled. Carol took another step back, eyes widening in shock. He had never, _ever,_ raised his voice at her. He had never looked at her with such fury in his eyes or bared his teeth at her like that “I spent years bending over backwards to keep you alive and safe and happy and you shoved a knife in my back! You sent me back to Hala with a threat! Tell me, did you think they were just going to let me keep my position, my belongings, my _freedom,_ after I lost my hold on the one person that could ruin everything they’ve worked so hard to build?”

Carol was too shocked to say anything. She just kept staring at him, watching as he breathed down hard.

“You sent me back _there_ ” he continued through clenched teeth “How I wish they would’ve just left me to rot. But they kept pushing me around, beating me, starving me, humiliating me. The Supreme Intelligence showed me these… _awful_ things” his voice cracked and he hesitated, taking a deep breath “She sent people after you, of course, but she wanted me to join the hunt. She wanted me to prove my loyalty by bringing your corpse to her.”

“You refused her” Carol barely recognized her own voice as it left her mouth in a timid whisper.

“I did” Yon-Rogg’s burning golden eyes examined her from head to toe “I…”

Ayesha chose _that_ moment to burst inside. She was holding two trays, one in each hand.

“I heard screaming” Ayesha said simply, her golden eyes going from Yon-Rogg to Carol.

The air was charged with tension so thick a knife could cut through it, but Ayesha ignored it in favor of handing out the trays. Carol vaguely recognized the stuff on top of it as food.

“I’m not hungry” Yon-Rogg bent over to place the tray in chair he had sat, but that proved to be a bad idea. His face turned white with alarming speed when he leaned forward.

“What is it?” Ayesha reached out to him, hands on his shoulders as he straightened his posture.

“It’s nothing” Yon-Rogg lied. Carol frowned; he was obviously in pain and he had never been a masochist “I just… I need to clean up and get some rest.”

“Of course” Ayesha readily agreed, and Carol wondered if she had always rushed to tend to his whims and how much of that patronizing behavior had contributed to turn him into such an arrogant prick “Do you need…”

“I don’t want any help, thank you” Yon-Rogg didn’t sound very thankful, but Ayesha didn’t push it and let him walk away. Her face didn’t change but it was obvious she was upset for being so readily dismissed by her own child. Carol felt bad for her all of a sudden, but had no clue what she could say to make it better. So, instead of saying anything, Carol stabbed something that looked like a fruit with a plastic fork and shoved it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed without really tasting it, keeping her eyes on the tray and giving Ayesha some time to recompose herself.

“We’ll arrive shortly” Ayesha said after a couple minutes. Carol had finished eating by then, though she couldn’t say _exactly_ what she had eaten “Another couple hours.”

“I thought Sovereign was much more distant from the Nova Empire” Carol commented.

“It is” Ayesha agreed “You slept for a while.”

Carol pursed her lips, none too happy about that, feeling like she had wasted too much time - lives had been lost at the Kyln, and she was sure both the Nova and the Kree had already started to mobilize their troops.

She realized that she was wasting even more time sitting there with Ayesha, travelling in a ship that was moving in the opposite direction she should be taking. By the time they reached Sovereign the battle could have started already.

“Listen, Ayesha” Carol approached the Priestess with determination “You don’t have to give me your ship anymore. Keep it. And keep that son of yours where you can see him” Carol altered her uniform until it glowed blue and red again “I’ll find my way to Hala.”

“Alone?” Ayesha raised both her golden eyebrows “With no ship?”

“I’m really resourceful” Carol started heading to the hatch in the ceiling, the one Ayesha had used to go out and fix the ship at the Kyln.

“I know that, but it’s still unwise to go after the Kree on your own” with a few quick steps Ayesha caught up and grabbed her wrist. Carol glared at her.

“Let me go.”

“There’s only one of you and thousands of them” Ayesha said, as if Carol needed a reminder that she was utterly alone in this “If you must strike, then be smart. Don’t offer them an easy target by flying over their heads where they can blast you away before you even got close to the Supreme Intelligence.”

Carol realized she _wasn’t_ the only one who wanted to see a change in the way the Kree did things. As strange as Ayesha’s relationship with Yon-Rogg was, he was still her eldest son and the Krees tried to have him killed. Carol could see the anger boiling in Ayesha’s golden eyes, searching for a way to make them pay for that.

“Come with us to Sovereign” Ayesha insisted “I’ll provide as much help as I can once we get there. Ships, weapons. The only thing I can’t give you is an army.”

“I have no use for a fleet without pilots” Carol pointed out.

“Sovereign war crafts are remotely piloted” Ayesha elaborated “This way, the pilots can fight but remain safe at home.”

Carol frowned, the evidence of how technological advanced the Sovereign were puzzling her again.

“Alright” Carol agreed, and Ayesha let go of her wrist, clasping her hands behind her back “Can I ask how I barely heard about the Sovereign until now even though you have a considerable military strength?”

“I’ve told you already. We value the lives of our citizens far too much to risk them in combat” said Ayesha, a muscle trembling in her jaw.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

The Priestess narrowed her golden eyes at Carol’s request.

“Personal how?”

“I was just wondering what the High Priestess of the Sovereign saw in some Kree soldier.”

Carol watched Ayesha carefully, but the Priestess only blinked at her, the same way Yon-Rogg did whenever Carol managed to surprise him.

“I don’t…”

“Yon-Rogg’s father” Carol clarified “How was he like?”

When Ayesha finally understood what Carol meant, a curious expression surged in her golden features.

“I can’t really tell” the corner of Ayesha’s mouth twitched in a suggestion of a smirk “I never met him.”

“Excuse me?” the words were out of Carol’s mouth before she had fully processed Ayesha’s previous words.

“Sovereign don’t reproduce like most races do” Ayesha said, and she was totally laughing at Carol now, even though her mouth was only slightly curved upwards “We collect germinative cells and fertilize them in the lab. The success of this operation results in an embryo that undergoes an extensive scanning for genetic defects that are promptly corrected. Other alterations can be made as well, to ensure an individual that is not just healthy, but a valuable member of the community. Once the embryo is considered perfect, it is germinated in a birthing pod.”

“Birthing pod” Carol repeated, dumbstruck. Her head was spinning - _that_ wasn’t the answer she had been expecting at all.

“Think of it as an artificial womb” Ayesha carried on, eyes sparkling “Once the individual inside is considered fully developed, the pod is open and they can finally draw their first breath.”

“So, you didn’t actually carry him?” inquired Carol, trying to come to grips with this new onslaught of information “You didn’t… get pregnant? You just manipulated two cells in a lab?”

“I insisted in undergoing the procedure to collect the necessary cell myself” Ayesha said proudly “Once the other cell was provided by the Kree, I realized the fertilization. I made all the genetic alterations necessary to create the strongest of the warriors and I oversaw his physical development. The Supreme Intelligence” Ayesha’s lips tightened, as if speaking of the Kree leader left a bad taste in her mouth “Gave me some specifications as to how he should be educated. He was meant to be a fighter but also a leader and, of course, a Kree.”

“I don’t get why you did do that” Carol frowned “Why did you _make_ a warrior for them? They have thousands of their own. And it’s not like they’re big fans of mixing their precious blue blood with any other.”

“I had no choice” Ayesha said angrily “Sovereign was attacked. The Starforce came to our aid, but of course their help came with a price. I had just been appointed as High Priestess and it was my responsibility to make sure my people wouldn’t be harmed. But I thought…” Ayesha hesitated, her face becoming less severe “It was my first time performing the process. I didn’t anticipate the attachment I felt as I made him. And when the pod opened…” Ayesha’s smile was small but so full of tenderness it made Carol uncomfortable “He was so _perfect._ I just couldn’t get tired of looking at him, talking to him.”

Carol really, _really,_ wished she had kept her curiosity to herself. Hearing Ayesha speak was making Carol really sad for herself and even more angry at Yon-Rogg for stealing her away from her own family. She wondered if her own mother missed her - and these weren’t thoughts to be having now, she should be focusing on the war, on the innocent people who could be about to die…

“The Supreme Intelligence sent someone to take him away eventually” Ayesha continued “At first he called me everyday and we would speak for hours. He didn’t like Hala, where everyone looked down on him because he was different. I hoped that he would try and come back to me. But as the time passed he changed. He became distant” Ayesha swallowed down hard, glancing sideways at Carol, her cheeks glowing in a brighter shade of gold. Carol realized that she was embarrassed for the emotional outburst.

“He’s a jerk nowadays” Carol said with much less heat that she would’ve like to put into these words, but it was obvious that Ayesha didn’t want to hear Carol speaking ill of her precious child. Carol supposed no mother did “But, you know, maybe once he’s back home he’ll go back to be the guy you made.”

Ayesha nodded shortly, and Carol decided to slip away before she got even more discomposed.

Unfortunately the ship was really, really small. Carol climbed down a set of stairs and found herself staring at a room that served as a dormitory slash storage slash kitchen. Yon-Rogg was sitting at the bottom of a bunk bed with his back pressed against the wall and his eyes closed. His hair was still wet from the shower, stubborn strands curling over his temples and his forehead. Carol found herself standing there, staring at the dark blond curls that were completely new to her, incapable of not thinking about what Ayesha just said, about him not being born the monster he had become.

“She taught you how to dance” Carol said to the silent room.

Yon-Rogg didn’t open his eyes, but she saw his chest rise and fall in an unmistakable sigh.

“And you weren’t born the traditional way, which is why you don’t have a navel” Carol continued, testing his patience. The Yon-Rogg she knew wouldn’t bite. He had endless patience and always remained calm while other people exploded. But Carol was coming to terms with the fact that things were different now, so she wasn’t surprised when he breathed out angrily.

“For someone who hates me so much, you spend an awful amount of time around me” he said dryly.

“Small ship. Not many places…”

“You can go back upstairs, continue to talk about me behind my back with the High Priestess” he cut her off, opening his eyes to glare at her.

“You mean your mother?” she lifted her eyebrows “The woman who risked everything to save your life?”

He clenched his jaw so tightly she could hear his teeth click from all the way across the room.

“She loves you” Carol said “You shouldn’t be such an idiot to her.”

She waited for an spiteful answer, but none came. He closed his eyes again, turning his face to the other side.

“What are you even doing here?” he asked instead, his voice thick.

“It might have escaped your notice, but the Intelligence wants a war with the Nova” Carol felt the anger rise again but pushed it back. Now that they were in the same room again there was no reason to not take advantage of the fact he had been a Commander at Starforce and had way more knowledge about the Kree than she did. She was also tired of fighting. A part of her wanted to believe what she just said to Ayesha, that he could change, and showing some cooperation would be a good sign “That’s why it tried to blow everyone in that cargo bay away.”

Yon-Rogg’s hands clenched in fists, knuckles turning white.

“Is that why you were there? To end a war before it started?” he still wouldn’t look at her, face turned to the other side.

“Sorry to disappoint you if you thought I was there for you” Carol replied dryly.

“And yet you left with me” Yon-Rogg said, but his words weren’t the only thing bothering Carol; his voice was thick, the words coming out slow - if she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought he was falling asleep “The others are probably dead now. The war has certainly been officially declared.”

“I know that” Carol said stiffly “But I can do something about it” she tried to squish down the dangerous bubble of hope that was trying to settle in her chest “If you help me, I can end it much faster and then you’ll be able to live the rest of your life in Sovereign knowing that no one is after you.”

Yon-Rogg laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. It was dry and full of disdain, and it burst that stubborn bubble of hope, replacing it with a tight knot of anger.

“For one thing, I’m done giving you things, Vers” he coughed, an odd wet sound “And for another, I’m a warrior. It’s all I am. I’m not spending the rest of my life in Sovereign surrounded…” he coughed again, louder, his whole body shaking with it “By a pack of cowards.”

Carol couldn’t help herself; she moved across the room until she was by his side. She reached out and touched his hair, burying her fingers in that soft mess of dark blonde curls. It felt ridiculously good to touch him again, feel the heat of his skin and know that he was right over there and she could touch all of him if she wanted to - her heartbeat sped up, skin suddenly more sensitive, and she felt two years worth of anxiety being drained away.

She decided she liked his longer hair; now she had enough to grip and make him tilt his head when she pulled and it felt so incredibly soft under her fingers, it made her want to bury her face in it and feel the curls giving her tickles…

Carol tested her grip in his hair, pulling to make him look at her. It worked, but when she saw his face - skin deadly white, glassy eyes, lips stained with blue blood - all those warm feelings vanished in a split second. She lifted her other hand and touched the blood on his lips.

“Korath must have broke at least one of your ribs” she said, letting go of his hair and reaching down to grip the hem of his shirt.

“Oh no, my bones are intact” Yon-Rogg said, coughing again, blood dripping down his mouth “Some of the guards gave me a farewell present, though.”

Carol lifted his shirt, trying to ignore the automatic tightening of her throat caused by the sight of his naked torso. If she closed her eyes she could remember how every inch of his body had been, so it shocked her to see that his skin was now marred with scars, twisted thick lines that were obviously the results of wounds meant to cause pain, some of them brand new, and that the solid muscle that used to be found underneath the golden skin had mostly disappeared, so much so she could easily count his ribs.

The source of all that blood he was spitting was clearly the gash in his right side, right below his ribcage; it wasn’t very deep and Yon-Rogg’s natural healing abilities were keeping him from bleeding out, but not from bleeding _in._

“I think it pierced your liver” Carol forced herself to at least _pretend_ to be calm “But it’s not deep, so we just have to close it.”

“There’s something inside” he grumbled out and Carol’s heart skipped a beat.

“Let me get your mom” because there was no way she was opening him up to pull out some sort of torture device. She just _couldn’t._ But he grabbed her wrist with surprising strength when she tried to walk away.

“I want you to remove it” he insisted. He was panting now, his chest rising and falling quickly. She blinked, trying to not to collapse like a frightened child, but it was hard - he was hurt and she couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault, that she had been responsible for all the pain he had felt after she sent him back to Hala.

“I can’t” she blurted out a shaky whisper.

“You can. Once it’s out I’ll heal much faster” his grip tightened and she found herself kneeling next to the bed.

The wound had irregular borders and the skin around it was more warm than usual. Carol swallowed down hard, several reasons to not do it running through her head, but she reached out anyway and pried the gash open, ignoring the way his whole body stiffened when she did that. Blood leaked out, staining his skin blue.

She saw the cruel glint of metal buried amidst torn tissue and slowly pulled it, holding the small metal plate between her thumb and her index finger. Carol only realized she was holding her breath when the irregular piece of metal was out and she found herself gasping, chest burning at both the lack of oxygen and the stabbing pain in her heart that had everything to do with the fact that she had just been faced with the evidence that despite everything Yon-Rogg had done to her, she still hadn’t wished such a cruel fate to him.

“Ayesha!” she shouted before Yon-Rogg could say something else. Not that she believed he could. His eyes were closed, the rise and fall of his chest the only sign that he was indeed alive - but not for much longer if all that blood kept coming out.

Ayesha rushed downstairs, an horrified sound coming out of her throat when she saw Carol kneeling in the floor and Yon-Rogg bleeding in the bed. Carol dragged herself away and watched as Ayesha moved around, retrieving medical supplies and using them to patch Yon-Rogg up. She did it quickly and efficiently, lower lip trembling but hands steady. When she was done, she finally turned to Carol.

Carol knew she looked like a mess. Her hands were sticky with blood, and her face felt warm, muscles trembling as she tried not to cry.

“He’ll be all right” Ayesha said in thin voice. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as she wanted to convince Carol “Just a little blood loss. Once we get to Sovereign we’ll take him straight to the hospital and they’ll fix him in no time.”

Carol knew she was probably right. But nothing would erase the memory of that piece of metal shoved inside him - because she was sure of what happened, that the guards just sliced through skin and muscle with that goddamn plate, uncaring of the damage a mostly blunt and irregular piece of metal would cause, uncaring of the pain they were inflicting…

Carol still had it in her hands. She looked down, cleaning some of the blood to examine it better.

At some point it must have had intelligible whole words and a sequel of numbers engraved on it, but right now, the only thing understandable were four letters.

Carol jumped to her feet.

“I have to go.”

She rushed upstairs and located the hatch in the ceiling. Ayesha trailed after her, and Carol silently cursed the speed which she moved.

“Where…?”

“I don’t know” Carol activated her helmet “Doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about giving me anything. You don’t owe me a thing. Just keep him safe.”

“What about the…?”

“Keep your ships, all of them, I’ll find another one” Carol refused to turn around and face Ayesha when the Priestess grabbed her by the shoulder.

“I thought you agreed you’d be smart” Ayesha insisted.

“Being smart takes time” Carol said hurriedly “I need to do something _now.”_

“Why?”

“They’re asking for it” Carol shrugged off Ayesha’s grip and opened the hatch, jumping outside.

She stood atop of the ship for a second, looking down at the piece of metal in her hand again. There was a sun not very far, its intense clarity making the words engraved on the metal glow.

VERS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Endgame is among us - and no, I haven't watched it yet, so no spoilers please ;p I have a plan for the future of this series regardless of what happens in Endgame (unless, of course, Carol or Ayesha or Yon dies) but will depend whether or not Marvel will tell us where Carol has been. If they don't, I will continue with my original train of thought. If they do, I'll make the necessary changes and we'll still get in the same destination. The bottom line is: I'm not giving up on this :)

**Author's Note:**

> As always, kudos, comments and bookmarks are very much appreciated :D


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